It is NaMoste to new politics. In this new age politics, the media hasn't got the message. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the message, messenger and medium—all rolled into one. What other mystic formula can explain the new normal in BJP culture, where the new state leaders are total surprises? Not one political soothsayer or media maven remotely guessed who the new political CEOs of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh would be after the Modi deluge swept the state elections.
Once the trimurti’s names flashed on screens, hundreds of journalists—some establishment-velcro, others saffron-repellent—discovered the virtues of the three new chief ministers. Their most obvious trait: each one is a Modi manifestation. The common thread that knit the ascension of first-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma of Rajasthan, three-term MLA Mohan Yadav of Madhya Pradesh, and former state party chief Vishnu Deo Sai of Chhattisgarh was Sangh ideology. Having sprung a surprise by elevating national nobodies, Modi provided fulsome fodder to primetime punditocracy. The avoidably unavoidable talking heads dissected the decisions using weary algorithms of caste, region and Sangh connectivity. And, of course, their relevance in the 2024 elections. A study of their profiles as new power players tells a different story.
Has Modi invoked caste politics?
Absolutely not. His selection of Cabinet ministers and chief ministers over the past nine years reflects an unvarying pattern of sanguine surprises. In addition to the jaw-dropping element of unexpected unanimity, Modi's search for new faces to replace old ones with their own coteries successfully continues. The selection of ST leader Vishnu Deo Sai for Chhattisgarh was influenced by the BJP’s huge electoral dividends gained from the tribal belt, which the PM hopes will continue well into mid-2024. Of the 29 reserved seats for STs, the BJP won 17 this time, as against just three in 2018. After Raman Singh, who governed the state for 15 years, there was no one other than Sai to replace such a tall leader. Sai has been the state party chief, a three-time MLA and an MP.
In Rajasthan, Bhajan Lal Sharma, a Brahmin, first-term MLA, was the PM’s choice over Vasundhara Raje, who has done two stints as chief minister. Since the Rajasthan BJP is faction-riddled, Modi handpicked a back-bencher with a clean track record. He took a calculated risk by ignoring the claims of the powerful Gurjars, Meenas and Jats who account for more than a third of the 115 seats won.
In Madhya Pradesh, 58-year-old Mohan Yadav became CM because he is a three-time, faction-free MLA who stood by patiently as local luminaries clamoured for favoured candidates. In the numbers game, Yadavs are hardly a significant factor in the MP election next year. Neither are Brahmins in Rajasthan.
The common factor among all the three novitiates is their hardcore Hindutva accreditation, having begun their political journey through the RSS. Caste was just a coincidence in Modi’s choice of deputy chief ministers, too. Of the new six players, only two are Brahmins: Rajendra Shukla in Madhya Pradesh and Vijay Sharma in Chhattisgarh. The remaining four are from different communities.
These choices are a continuation of Modi’s philosophy of either breaking caste barriers or weakening them. The process began in Maharashtra and Haryana. Devendra Fadnavis, a young Nagpur Brahmin, was picked to run Maratha-dominated Maharashtra. Haryana got its first Punjabi RSS pracharak in the catbird seat—Manohar Lal Khattar became CM in spite of being a first-time MLA.
Yogi Adityanath was a last-minute choice for UP when he wasn’t an MLA. After Anandiben Patel was sent away from Ahmedabad to be UP governor, her replacement was not another Patel, but Vijay Rupani, a Jain—it caused a political earthquake in Gujarat. The current crop of 12 BJP chief ministers does not reflect caste contours in any state. One is a Brahmin, two are OBCs, another from a scheduled tribe, and the rest from upper castes. There isn't a single female BJP chief minister, although women voted for Modi in large numbers.
Is it the end of ‘vocal for local’ in BJP?
The manner in which the new breed was chosen is a clear indication of a future where the BJP high command will bet on local leaders to become regional saffron ambassadors and carry forward the Sangh agenda unconditionally. The choice of state observers and the limited secret parleys in Delhi indicated that state leaders had little say in choosing their CMs. Observers from Delhi landed in the state capitals just before the meeting. In the old BJP, its parliamentary board would meet to choose a CM based on reports submitted by observers. This time, no such formal meeting happened; the observers carried a sealed envelope bearing a name chosen by the prime minister, to be opened at the last minute.
Yadav’s name was announced on national TV even before the legislative meeting. None of the reporters flown to Bhopal by the national TV channels had an inkling about the events unfolding within the meeting hall.
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The selection of central observers made it obvious that they had already been briefed on the names. Modi had entrusted the task only to staunch followers: Khattar for Madhya Pradesh, Rajnath Singh for Rajasthan and Arjun Munda for Chhattisgarh. They are neither media-hungry, nor do they socialise with the Lilliputians of Lutyen’s Delhi. Tribal neta Munda, a former Jharkhand CM, went to Chhattisgarh to felicitate another tribal as chief minister. Khattar was conscripted to assuage the feelings of the wildly successful and popular Shivraj Chouhan. Rajnath Singh, a formidable Rajput veteran and former BJP president, was tasked with inducting a new, unconventional face in a feudal state dominated by Thakurs and royals.
Will the new order help in 2024?
Very unlikely. Both the 2014 and 2019 national elections were won not by the state satraps, but by the overpowering charisma of Narendra Modi. He has been crowned by Ram and Ram bhakti drives his chariot. He is the alpha and the omega of his new cohorts united by faith in Lord Ram.
In 2018, the BJP had lost three state polls. Yet, Modi netted 62 out of 65 seats from these states in 2019. His proactive involvement in state affairs is designed to align a strong state with a stronger Centre. Modi’s agenda is ‘One Nation, One Leader’—his rubric to ensure ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas’. Modi is the BJP’s caste-neutral mascot of surprises who sacrifices at the altars of immediacy, over-expediency and predictable experience. With such calculated moves, the PM has proved to be the master mentor of his party, as well as its strategic mental master.
Prabhu Chawla
prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com
Follow him on X @PrabhuChawla